Post surgery questions

[Dave-in-TX 0]

Hey everyone, I'm having gastric sleeve surgery soon and had a few questions for those of you who have experienced this type of surgery.

1. After surgery, did you have any pain when bending over or sitting up?

2. Should I expect any heartburn/vomiting after surgery?

3. Do you have any control of your bowel movements or urination during surgery or just after surgery?

As you can probably tell, I am a little nervous about things.

[Arabesque 7,581]

Everyone has questions & it’s not uncommon to be a bit nervous. I mean you’ve never experienced this before so have no reference points.

Everyone has differences in their experiences in the first few days after surgery. Just depends on how bodies react. This was my experience.

I didn't have any pain bending over or sitting up. A little discomfort maybe but I just moved slowly to ensure I didn’t accidentally damage or strain my abdominal area. I got in & out of bed easily & could sleep on my side with ease straight away. (First night I had a compression machine on my legs so had to sleep on my back.) You’ll be given strong pain meds to manage most of any pain you may have. I took my last one on day 4 but I probably didn’t need it. I didn’t have any gas pain.

I didn’t vomit after surgery & I can’t recall any heartburn but I was taking a PPI by day 4. You should be prescribed these as we tend to still produce the same amount of stomach acid as we did for our larger tummy & food intake for a while & the PPI reduces this acid. I did have to spit out excess saliva on day 2 (not vomit). This was because my throat was swollen & irritated from the breathing tube inserted during surgery. I just kept a sick bag beside me and spat into that.

Warning - details ahead! I had one sudden & unexpected bout of severe diarrhoea. No warning cramping just ran out of me as I was walking to the bathroom on day 3 I think. It was dark & smelly - blood from the surgery. But that was all. Then the Constipation began - lol! (A friend was advised to wear disposable underwear for a week or so just in case this happened. I remember her saying she was glad as wet farts are real.) No change to peeing just more frequent as your Fluid intake increases.

All the best.

PS - I had an extra day in hospital because my back went into spasm not from the surgery as such just from sub consciously holding some stress/tension in my body.

[sweetsmith78 60]

16 hours ago, Dave-in-TX said:

Hey everyone, I'm having gastric sleeve surgery soon and had a few questions for those of you who have experienced this type of surgery.

1. After surgery, did you have any pain when bending over or sitting up?

2. Should I expect any heartburn/vomiting after surgery?

3. Do you have any control of your bowel movements or urination during surgery or just after surgery?

As you can probably tell, I am a little nervous about things.

The question you need to be asking, are you mentally ready for this challenge?
Up and walking next day like nothing happened.

[Dave-in-TX 0]

Thanks for the information and what you experienced. This helps me in preparation for surgery as well as knowing what to expect post surgery.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Dave-in-TX

[Dave-in-TX 0]

15 minutes ago, sweetsmith78 said:

The question you need to be asking, are you mentally ready for this challenge?
Up and walking next day like nothing happened.

14 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Everyone has questions & it’s not uncommon to be a bit nervous. I mean you’ve never experienced this before so have no reference points.

Everyone has differences in their experiences in the first few days after surgery. Just depends on how bodies react. This was my experience.

I didn't have any pain bending over or sitting up. A little discomfort maybe but I just moved slowly to ensure I didn’t accidentally damage or strain my abdominal area. I got in & out of bed easily & could sleep on my side with ease straight away. (First night I had a compression machine on my legs so had to sleep on my back.) You’ll be given strong pain meds to manage most of any pain you may have. I took my last one on day 4 but I probably didn’t need it. I didn’t have any gas pain.

I didn’t vomit after surgery & I can’t recall any heartburn but I was taking a PPI by day 4. You should be prescribed these as we tend to still produce the same amount of stomach acid as we did for our larger tummy & food intake for a while & the PPI reduces this acid. I did have to spit out excess saliva on day 2 (not vomit). This was because my throat was swollen & irritated from the breathing tube inserted during surgery. I just kept a sick bag beside me and spat into that.

Warning - details ahead! I had one sudden & unexpected bout of severe diarrhoea. No warning cramping just ran out of me as I was walking to the bathroom on day 3 I think. It was dark & smelly - blood from the surgery. But that was all. Then the Constipation began - lol! (A friend was advised to wear disposable underwear for a week or so just in case this happened. I remember her saying she was glad as wet farts are real.) No change to peeing just more frequent as your Fluid intake increases.

All the best.

PS - I had an extra day in hospital because my back went into spasm not from the surgery as such just from sub consciously holding some stress/tension in my body.

Yes I am mentally ready for this journey.